The Vancouver Archives is full of gems, giving us a look at what Vancouver was like centuries ago. But what if we wanted to know what an exact location today looked like 100 years ago?
That’s what Vancouver’s Andrew Farris set out to achieve.
After getting the idea for a Then and Now photo series when he travelled to Nagasaki, Japan and realized the series made experiencing the history of the atomic bombing much more real, Farris wanted to capture more cities and show the change from then to now.
“I started making the website out of a love of history and to give myself something to do while backpacking around the world,” Farris told Vancity Buzz.
“The photos themselves are actually really easy to shoot,” Farris said, who shot all pictures for his five-part Vancouver series in the Fall and Winter of 2014. “Most of the time is spent on archival research and the web design.”
What’s next? “Now that I’ve done Vancouver and Victoria, I’m going to Europe to write and do photo essays. I’m putting together a huge Then and Now series for London right now.”
Each day this week, we’ll be featuring one part of Farris’ Vancouver Then and Now series. To see more of Farris’ work, visit his blog at www.onthisspot.ca.
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View of Deadman’s Island and Stanley Park
A German mortar on display in Stanley Park with the Rowing Club on the right
Speed boats zip across Coal Harbour
Squatter homes on Deadman’s Island
The fir tree at the entrance to Georgia Street from Stanley Park
Lost Lagoon is on the left
Regatta Day in Coal Harbour
Squatter shacks in Coal Harbour
Most weren’t evicted until 1931
Brockton Point
A ship steaming through into the Vancouver harbour
Construction of the Seawall didn’t start until 1917
The S.S. Beaver shipwrecked on Prospect Point
Siwash Rock
A view of downtown from across Coal Harbour
Looking west into Coal Harbour from the foot of Broughton
Then photos courtesy of Vancouver Archives
Now photos courtesy of Andrew Farris / On This Spot